Owner incapacity — Coinbase (2017)

Survives

Case description

A cryptocurrency investor with late-stage dementia had a Coinbase account with a substantial BTC balance in November 2017. Their family initiated a conservatorship proceeding. The exchange accepted court-ordered conservatorship documentation but required additional verification that took six weeks to produce. During the December price peak their open positions were significantly impacted.

Custody context

Stress condition	Owner incapacity
Custody system	Exchange custody
Outcome	Survives
Documentation	Unknown
Year observed	2017
Country	Unknown

Structural dependencies observed

Legal process requiredInstitutional cooperation requiredSingle point of failure

Outcome interpretation

Access remained possible under the reported conditions.

Source

Publicly Reported

Evidence type

Forum post

Evidence link

https://medium.com/@wayne_huang/rsa-2015-panel-bitcoin-s-future-threats-expert-s-roundtable-based-on-150-case-studies-92cc35e68e30

Related cases involving owner incapacity

68 cases involve owner incapacity 512 cases involve exchange custody View archive statistics →

This archive documents observed custody survivability failures. It does not attempt to document all Bitcoin losses or security incidents. Submit a case

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Framework references

Where Bitcoin Custody Intersects Legal and Fiduciary Authority

Where custody creates gaps in estate planning, fiduciary duty, and professional responsibility.

Professional Scope Boundary Matrix

What each professional or product covers, what they do not, and where gaps form between them.

The Independent Assessment Layer in Bitcoin Custody

How independent diagnostic layers emerge when multiple parties depend on shared infrastructure.